Mortality (The Hitchhiker Strain 1)

Mortality (The Hitchhiker Strain 1) by Kellie Sheridan

After surviving a deadly plague outbreak, sixteen-year-old Savannah thought she had lived through the very worst of human history. There was no way to know that the miracle vaccine would put everyone at risk for a fate worse than un-death.

Now, two very different kinds of infected walk the Earth, intent on nothing but feeding and destroying what little remains of civilization. When the inoculated are bitten, infection means watching on in silent horror as self-control disappears and the idea of feasting on loved ones becomes increasingly hard to ignore.

Starving and forced to live inside of the abandoned high school, all Savannah wants is the chance to fight back. When a strange boy arrives with a plan to set everything right, she gets her chance. Meeting Cole changes everything. Mere survival will never be enough.

Mortality (The Hitchhiker Strain 1) this isn’t my normal typical read, but the cover art was so intriguing that I wanted to read it based on the cover. It took a while for me to really get into this novel. It was actually the movie World War Z that drove me to sit down and actually plow through this novel.

I didn’t get the parallel stories until the end. They were basically the same story being told for two different girls. It was until the twist that the story got interesting for me, but I still didn’t figured out what was coming until it was upon me. Now that I finished it, I’m totally invested because I now understand the relationship between the characters. I think once you figure it out you will love this story.

Not only is Mortality about two girls with similar lives after the zombie apocalypse. It’s about how chance and the flip of the coin can change your entire world. Kellie Sheridan does a great job at creating a feeling of danger in this world after an outbreak.

These characters are living day to day with very little information. People claiming to be helping the living are just as dangerous and ruthless as the two different types of zombies. Trust is a luxury in this world that could get you killed, but faith is paramount to surviving.

The most amazing thing about this novel is that you see the tragedy of the situation. It shows you the struggle of humanity lost from both perspectives. It’s that dual story that makes it all the more tragic at the climax.

This novel is definitely written to leave the reader wanting a sequel. Very few storylines are resolved as more are proposed to the reader. It’s those coming possibilities that have me eager for the next novel.